Outfielder/first baseman Alex Hassan will have a new home next season, as the 26 year old has been claimed off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics. The team announced the move Monday evening.
#Athletics claim OF Alex Hassan off waivers from Boston.
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) November 17, 2014
The Quincy, Massachusetts native was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 20th Round in 2009 and worked his way up the team’s system rather slowly. He’s spent the better part of the last three seasons at Triple-A, batting a collective .282/.387/.411 in just over 1,000 plate appearances at the level. This past season he split his time between playing left field and first base at Pawtucket, hitting .287/.378/.426 with 31 doubles and 8 home runs.
Hassan did make his MLB Debut this past June with Boston. He’d appear in just three games, getting just nine plate appearances – singling to center field off of Erik Bedard in his second at bat for his lone hit.
There is some belief that Hassan could prove to be a strong right-handed part of a platoon and the defensive versatility is certainly a plus. It remains to be seen what type of role the A’s may be envisioning for Hassan. He figures to head to Spring Training with the team looking to win a bench role. Hassan will likely see more opportunity in Oakland than he would have in Boston. Stuck behind a gluttony of outfielders, there was little reason to expect that Hassan would figure prominently into Boston’s plans for the upcoming season.